KEY POINTS
- ZachXBT first reported that $440,000 was stolen from the compromise
- Crypto security firms have since flagged the MicroStrategy X account as being "compromised"
- MicroStrategy recently announced it was transitioning to a "Bitcoin development" company
Hackers appear to have taken over MicroStrategy's account on X (formerly Twitter) briefly on Sunday night to trick people into getting their wallets drained, as per crypto security analysts and researchers.
X user and pseudonymous crypto user @Spreek posted that MicroStrategy's account was "hacked" Sunday night (morning in Asia), adding a screen shot of what appears to be an offer for free tokens as posted on the tech firm's account. Blockchain researcher ZachXBT responded to @Spreek's post about an hour later, saying "$440K stolen from the compromise so far." The phishing post has since been removed from the account.
there was a second best after all
— Spreek (@spreekaway) February 26, 2024
(hacked acc if not obvious lol) pic.twitter.com/cdLqbqiiCO
0xe7645b8672b28a17dd0d650a5bf89539c9aa28da
— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) February 26, 2024
~$440K stolen from the compromise so far
MicroStrategy, which is the world's largest publicly-traded corporate holder of Bitcoin, did not immediately respond to International Business Times' request for comments.
System vulnerability analysis and malware defense firm PeckShield has since flagged the MicroStrategy X account, saying the page "has been compromised." It also warned users not to click on the phishing links.
#PeckShieldAlert @MicroStrategy has been compromised. Do *NOT* click on any phishing links. pic.twitter.com/JgZ9F3eHGV
— PeckShieldAlert (@PeckShieldAlert) February 26, 2024
Crypto wallet safety notification service Webacy has also warned users not to interact with MicroStrategy's X account for now.
🚨 ｢ Hack Alert ｣ 🚨
— Webacy - Safety Never Sleeps (@mywebacy) February 26, 2024
MicroStrategy is compromised.
Do not interact. Stay safe!! pic.twitter.com/pDOZyF4LSR
Web3 anti-scam solution Scam Sniffer revealed minutes after @Spreek posted the alleged MicroStrategy X account compromise that "someone lost $424,786 worth of $SwBAI, $SwPOKT, and $CHEX to phishing scams about 5 minutes ago."
someone lost $424,786 worth of $wBAI, $wPOKT, and $CHEX to phishing scams about 5 minutes ago. pic.twitter.com/GEJvHEXuM7
— Scam Sniffer | Web3 Anti-Scam (@realScamSniffer) February 26, 2024
About an hour later, Scam Sniffer wrote that "the victim may have clicked on a phishing website from the compromised MicroStrategy X account."
the victim may have clicked on a phishing website from the compromised MicroStrategy X account. https://t.co/EBKNG28xQ4 pic.twitter.com/vdistniFXN
— Scam Sniffer | Web3 Anti-Scam (@realScamSniffer) February 26, 2024
News of the hack came just weeks after the Tysons-based company's co-founder and executive chairman Michael Saylor said it was only "natural" for the business intelligence firm to transition to a "Bitcoin development" firm.
He hailed the success of MicroStrategy's Bitcoin strategy, which includes the company's acquisition of a total of 190,000 bitcoins worth around $8.1 billion based on the holdings' market value when the latest number was announced.
Meanwhile, MicroStrategy isn't the only crypto-related company to have been the target of a hack this month, as decentralized cryptocurrency exchange FixedFloat was exploited for at least $26 million in Bitcoin and Ether last week.
The exchange told IBT after the compromise that only its service was affected by the hack and user funds remain untouched. It acknowledged that the "external attack was caused by vulnerabilities in our security structure."
On Saturday, it announced its transition to a new domain that currently does not support some currencies. It said it was working to restore full access to all of its services as soon as possible.
